Cincinnati Reds Top Prospects: Blake Trahan

Blake Trahan spent the entire 2016 season in Daytona with the Tortugas where he hit .263/.325/.361. That performance earned him a promotion up to Double-A Pensacola for the 2017 season. The 23-year-old would spend his entire year stationed at shortstop for the Blue Wahoos.

Opening night in Pensacola went well for Blake Trahan, going 1-3 with a walk, steal and a run. But he would go into a slump over the next week-and-a-half. In those eight games he managed just five hits in 28 at-bats (.179). Returning to Pensacola after a road trip got things going in the right direction. Trahan went 6-16 with two doubles and two walks in the next four games against Jacksonville. That was followed by two 0-3 games before he went on a little run against Mobile, going 7-16. It was a tough final four games, though, as the shortstop went 2-18 to close out April. In 99 plate appearances he would hit just .241/.309/.264 with eight walks and 15 strikeouts. His rates were solid, but he struggled to hit for any power and the contact he made wasn’t resulting in the ball finding the grass.

The slump that ended April kept going into May. In the first six days Blake Trahan racked up just two hits, though he also drew two walks and only struck out twice. In a double header on the 7th he would go 3-7 with a double, RBI and a walk. That day didn’t carry over. From the 8th through the 18th he would go into another slump, hitting just .154 in 45 plate appearances. The next four days saw the Louisiana native go on a nice little streak, going 5-13 (.385) with a walk and his first home run of the season. The day off on the 23rd though cut the hot streak off. Over the final week of the month he had just three hits in 22 at-bats. After a tough April, May wasn’t any different. In 112 plate appearances Trahan hit .200/.303/.263 with 12 walks and 22 strikeouts. The walk and strikeout rates remained fine, but there was no power and contact wasn’t leading to the ball finding the grass.

June began better than the previous two months had. Blake Trahan went 10-34 (.294) over the first 10 games, including five walks and a double. The strong start didn’t last, though. For the next 19 days the Blue Wahoos shortstop went 5-36 (.139) – though that came with six walks and six strikeouts. He would finish the month on the 30th, going 2-3 with two runs scored. It was the best month of the season to this point, but it was still a struggle for Trahan, who posted a .233/.333/.260 line in 85 plate appearances. That included 11 walks and just 14 strikeouts, so once again he showed a good approach. But once again the contact wasn’t leading to power, or hits.

The month of July got out to a good start for Blake Trahan, going 2-4 with a run scored on the 1st. But he then went into a big time slump. From the 2nd through the 13th he went just 2-30 (.067). The following nine days saw the shortstop rebound somewhat, going 11-35 (.314) with a double and two walks. The final week of the month, though, was another slump where he went just 3-23. July would go down as the worst month of the season for Trahan, hitting just .196 with a .260 on-base percentage and a .239 slugging percentage.

In the first two games of August, Blake Trahan went 3-8 with two runs against Birmingham. But he’d enter an 11-game slump after that, going just 4-37 (.108). Things would improve over the final three weeks of the season, though. In what was the best stretch of the year for the infielder, Trahan hit .302 with five doubles and eight walks in the final 19 games. The hot-and-cold streaks combined for a .241/.344/.333 line over the last five weeks of the season. That came with seven doubles, a home run, 15 walks and 17 strikeouts. The hits still didn’t find the grass often, but the approach remained good and he began to show some extra-base pop.

For all 2017 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).

Blake Trahan Spray Chart

Blake Trahan Scouting Report

Hitting | While Blake Trahan makes plenty of contact – usually a good sign for a strong hit tool, that hasn’t translated for Trahan. His hit tool is below-average.

Power | Power isn’t a part of Trahan’s game. He’s hit seven home runs since being drafted in 325 games. He’s got 30-grade power and scouts don’t believe there’s more coming.

Running | He’s got above-average speed.

Arm | His arm is slightly above-average and shows good accuracy.

Fielding | His range is slightly below-average at shortstop, but his arm helps make up a little bit for the overall defensive package.

The 2017 season was a struggle for Blake Trahan on offense. He’s got a solid approach, draws some walks and makes contact, but he just doesn’t hit the ball with any authority. His speed could help him leg out a few extra infield hits throughout the year, but that’s not enough to move the needle on his hit tool. The lack of power doesn’t help out much, either. Those two things lead to him profiling more as a utility player than a future starter. He’s got enough defense that he could play at shortstop, second base, or third base in that kind of role.

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Good walk rate, good K rate, good positional versatility. Point simple, he needs to hit the ball harder. Whether he sells out a bit for more doubles power and has his K rate rise a bit, something has to change, because that kind of weak contact won’t play at the big league level (i.e. – Jose Peraza the first half of 2017). Hit the ball harder and his BABIP likely rises a good bit which raises his overall offensive profile.

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